Okay, so I have high blood pressure and am well aware that I should call it that or hypertension but I seriously had a doctor tell me once that I had blood pressure. I was like... "um... you mean high blood pressure?" Him "Yes, blood pressure, so you need to followup with your regular physician." Me: "Uh, okay... whatever!"

I have a country bumpkin red neckish great aunt... who doesn't like to wear her teeth often... is obsessed with Glamour Shots... and says "Peachy Caramel Buckaroo" and "Derr-Derr" when someone like myself would say, "Holy crap" or "WTH?"

Soooo... one day she called me in a panic... cuz she just came from the doctor and he told her she got "the sugar". (pronounced sher-ger).

I'm still just a med student, but I find it's much easier to talk to patients in very simple (almost MR) terms. Of course, and I hate to say it, my school is in a very blue-collar, non-educated, working class town. Words like "the sugar", "just blood pressure", "water pills", and "throw a fit" (generalized tonic-clonic seizure) are thrown around like nobody's business. I actually had to explain the meaning of "baby-daddy" to a friend from a small town. On one hand I feel bad encouraging it because I'm contributing to the dumbing-down of society; on the other hand, I'd rather people remember their disorders in simple words than not at all. Plus it's always good for a laugh. :)

Welcome to my whining!

This blog is entirely for entertainment purposes. All posts about patients may be fictional, or be my experience, or were submitted by a reader, or any combination of the above. Factual statements may or may not be accurate.

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